PM's trip to UAE to focus on energy trade, investment
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) beginning Sunday is expected to focus on enhancing energy trade and adding investment through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Prime Minister will be in UAE on August 16-17. Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to visit the country in more than three decades. “During my visit, I seek to enhance cooperation in energy, trade and will talk to investors on why India is an attractive destination to invest. I am certain my visit will boost people-to-people ties between our nations,” Modi said in a statement on Thursday. At present, the bilateral trade between India and UAE is around $60 billion. Experts believe that the PM’s visit will revive the two-year old deal — Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPA)—aimed at boosting cross-border investments and joint venture projects. India also looks forward to attract more investment from UAE, especially in infrastructure and power sectors. The country has world’s largest investment fund— The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)—with a coffer of more than $800 billion. “The economic strides taken by UAE are extremely admirable. UAE is a global economic success story that has attracted people from all over the world. UAE has also emerged as an important logistics hub,” the Prime Minister said. According to the government data, the current total investment from UAE is valued at $8 billion of which $3 billion has come through FDI, mainly in construction, power, services and IT sectors. During the last financial year, India’s total export to UAE was worth $33 billion and the country was the sixth largest source of crude oil.
August 13, 2015 | 4:19pm IST.
to success.